How do you start your day? Do you follow a special routine? Do you start with contemplative prayer or meditation? Or, do you begin with exercise or a cup of coffee or tea or even breakfast?
There are many ways to start your day and hopefully you’ve found one or more ways to make it work well for you! Whatever your preferences, how you begin something can make all the difference to the tone, flow and feeling of the hours, minutes and seconds that are yet to come.
What if you planned the start of your day the day before? From time to time, because I like to always try new and different things, I set my expectations the night before. Prior to turning out the light and going to sleep, I take a minute to think about the next day. I think about how I want to be and feel. I don’t think about actual tasks, or people or things that I’ll likely encounter in my work and such. Instead, I think about my level of joy and peace and equanimity. I think about how I’ll feel and how I’ll show up in the world. I’ll even grab a piece of paper and write a single sentence describing my expectation as I want to make it as real as possible. It’s all about setting an intention. Then I turn out the light and drift off into peaceful slumber.
When I follow this simple practice, I notice that I wake up the next day with an increased sense of focus and purpose. I typically feel more rested, alert and well integrated into my day — and that’s a great way to feel any day and every day!
I challenge you to try this for yourself — even for just a few days. I would love to hear your feedback on how this simple, yet powerful exercise works for you. So the next time you want to add some extra assurance that the next day will get off to a strong start, spend a few minutes the night before creating thoughts that will proceed it.
Think about you want to feel and how you want to show up in the world. Don’t worry about details like tasks and meetings and all the things crowding up your busy To Do list. Focus on how you want to feel and be the next day. And, if you can, just write a quick sentence that states it as such.
I’m confident that taking a few quiet minutes the night before to connect with your heart and mind, and your thoughts and feelings, will help manifest a day into which you can step with much confidence and courage.
To Your Success!
Tara Kachaturoff
